The hottest ones are the craziest, right?
Let’s back up. Back in college (and many years after), I had a lot of female friends but became proficient at friend-zoning myself. I had crushes. Failed to act. I had my chances. I didn’t recognize them until years later. Did some of those women like me back? Definitely. Did I anxiously over-think every moment, cower from asking the one simple, harmless question, “Want to go out some time?” Every. Fucking. Time.
Needless to say, I can relate to the protagonist Bear (Michael Johnston), at least at first. I thankfully cannot relate to him as he makes a series of simple and then ultimately disturbing mistakes that leads to his friend and crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) falling obsessively and maniacally in love with him.
With Obsession, writer/director Curry Barker gives us what will undoubtedly be one of the best horror movies of the year. Dark and darkly funny, Barker’s tale of false love somehow manages to be scary and waggish at the same time–while landing some shocking body horror moments as well.
Nikki is a truly frightening incarnation, a corrupted soul built to love to terrifying extremes. Navararette absolutely nails the role, offering up an all-time-great horror performance that has her smiling one second and making you jolt out of your seat the next. She is downright frightening, heightened by Barker’s screenplay that leaves you giggling at her twisted antics while simultaneously making the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Barker’s filmmaking is ruthless, his storytelling unsparing. Nothing is off limits, yet he avoids bleakness. Obsession is obsessively entertaining, without sacrificing edge. No one is safe, no direction is unlikely, and yet the movie undeniably remains “mainstream.” It’s a balancing act that, thankfully, never crumbles.
Back to Bear. I said I could relate to the dude, though after a lively online debate with some of my fellow critics, maybe I need to hedge. All I can say: what a deliciously complicated character. An innocent decision–making a wish you assume won’t come true–spirals from there, forcing (or enabling) Bear to do some questionable things. How troubling those actions are up for interpretation. Is he a victim or a villain, or something in between? No matter how you see him, Curry has baked up a terrifically nuanced and controversial protagonist. Johnston, for his part, plays the part extremely well.
What we can all agree on: remaining in the friend zone would have been the safer route to go. But if I were to coach my younger self, I’d tell him to go big or go home. Barker, and Obsession, go big, and I for one am obsessively in love.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.